Cupcake Kingdom Hearts: Undead Rising
by HeartlessEnslaved113
Summary: A lush, beautiful world of dreams and happiness has been reduced to sorrow and flames. The remaining survivors of this legendary kingdom struggle to retake their world, against a growing undead army led by a once-beloved ally...
1. Back Story and The Gathering

AUTHOR'S INTRO:

Oh hi. After much pressure from certain Mudkips and tweety birds ( 3 ), I decided to repost and, thus, continue to write again. Hopefully. It'll be a slow process cuz i don't get much time to really focus on it, but I'll try. Anyways, this intro post is to give a quick back story on the characters and events of the 'world', as it were, of this story.

Roughly…iunno, maybe five years ago now, my local convention had a fan-run forum. In this forum we had a ton of weird threads, just a ton of randomness before randomness was cool. Anyways, the main forum members started this RP within one of the threads, and it lasted…goodness…for over a year, with continuing storylines and everything. Many of the names you'll see in this story are the names of the forum members, such as Oathkeeper, Chimera, and the like. This particular story I began writing around three years ago, before the demise of the forum and most of the members grew apart from one another. This, and the story I've had brewing in my head which is a continuation of this saga, is something like a tribute to our fun times together, and the people who made it possible.

The basis of the Cupcake Kingdom, revolved around a world with worlds. In the story people have Keyblades, from Kingdom Hearts, make references to characters from said game series, Final Fantasy, and other similar games. The Kingdom itself is set within that universe and is a world like all the others, but is a 'main' world, as it were, where no one is to disrupt the balance between the worlds and no one is to know about their existence. It was once a lush, green, beautiful place ruled by the Cupcake Princess and Prince, now Queen and King in this current story. Among them lived other subject, most of them in command of a select army, like ferrets and squirrels, and each had a certain history with one another. The biggest of these is the conflict between Twitch and Tristan, whom controlled the squirrels and ferret, respectively. These two are one of the main focus points in every story thus far, including the one that's swirling in my head. XD THAT story involves people I know now, but that's for another time. In this story, the Cupcake Kingdom has been reduced to ruins, taking place several years following the original RP. All that remains is the single castle, which will become a centerpiece for he future. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this, and I warn you it can get a bit confusing; I wrote most of this quite some time ago, so my powers of description and character specifics weren't that great then. ^^' Enjoy.

CHAPTER ONE: The Gathering

The air was acrid. The land, once lush, and green with trees, grass, plants, and animals...had now been turned into a wasteland. Buildings were crushed, bridges were trampled into waterless rivers, and dead, rotten trunks were all that was left of the beautiful cherry blossoms that adorned the land.

This was the Cupcake Kingdom.

High atop the tallest mountain in the kingdom, a lone figure stood, cloaked in a ragged, dark green cloak. It was a female, and her long, yet curly reddish-brown hair waved in the stale, hot wind as she looked down at the tarnished land below.

"This was once my home...our home..." she whispered. "How could this happen? We...we were so strong...We..."

"Pink!" A male voice shouted from afar. She turned suddenly to see the King, Chimera, calling her over to the group of four others that were with him, all in a circle. She nodded and sprinted up towards them.

The Queen, Oathkeeper, looked upon her subjects with dire, pained eyes. "My people...this is...wait...where's Twitch?"

Everyone glanced around, seeing if she was late and catching up, or forgot. The caves where they took shelter were empty.

Pink blinked. "That's funny...I swear she was he-"

"Hey! Sorry I'm late!"

Everyone turned towards the lookout point to see Twitch, adorned in a flowing purple skirt, black boots, a crimson see-through top, and black stockings on her arms. Her hair was long, almost to her waist, and it flowed with a powerful, almost devine radiance in the deep, red sun.

Everyone gasped as they saw her walking forward. Not just at what she was wearing, compared to the rather decrepid dress they were adorned with, but also why. She had been the only one to stand up and take a harsh, constituted stand in agreeance to the plan which was now to be discussed and finalized. A plan to take back their home. She was perhaps the most hurt, next to the Cupcake Queen, when "they" arrived, and brought the kingdom into death. Nearly all of her troops were eliminated, and her First Officer, Axel, was presumed dead. They never even found his body.

Oathkeeper admired her war ethic. She held her in perhaps a stronger position than even herself sometimes. Now, especially. "Twitch," she said happily. "I am glad you could make it. Now, we must begin this meeting, for our very world, nay, our lives, depend on what happens tomorrow."

Everyone sat and watched Oathkeeper carefully. "You are the last of our breathren. Souly, Lord of the Pokeballs, Wake, Queen of the Pandacats, Cyber, King of the Robots, Pink, Mistress of the Rose, Twitch, Queen of the Squirrels, and my dear Chimera, King of the Cupcakes." She smiled at each of them, her face warm and sincere.

Pink slowly raised her hand. "What...what about the...the ferrets?"

There was suddenly a grim silence amongst the group. Everyone looked down, in a form of rememberance. "Pink..." Oathkeeper said, her voice soft. "...the ferrets...they perished when the undead rose. You don't remember, because of the memory incident, but...they...he...are gone."

Pink's face dropped, a wave of sadness coming over her. "Oh...I'm...sorry..."

Twitch stared down, her mind wandering towards the days when she and the ferrets were at war. And those rare, peaceful times when they weren't. She quickly shook her head to erase the memories. In the words of Xemnas...she said to herself...some memories are best left forgotten.

"Now..." Oathkeeper said. "This is it, my loyal friends. Tomorrow, at dawn...we MUST fight. TOGETHER. From this day forward...all annimousity, all negativity...it must be vanquished. For our lives...our very existance."

Everyone was stren and focused. Oathkeeper's long, raven hair flowed over her shoulders as she spoke. Her eyes, tired and dark from the pain of the past few months, still shone with a deep, soulful embrace, knowing that if she and her subjects were to fail in the oncoming battle...

"Now...Cyber, are your mechs ready?"

Cyber nodded, his face stern and confident. "They are ready, my Queen. All air and ground forces are prepped and loaded."

Oathkeeper nodded. "Souly, Wake...?"

Souly nodded. "The Pokeballs are set. The explosions should destroy at least a dozen of them in one blast."

"The Ninja Pandacats have reported over 75,000 zombies a-"

"DON'T USE THAT WORD!" Everyone shouted.

Wake stared, shocked. "W...w-what word...?"

"That!" Cyber exhaled. "The...Zed-word!"

Wake blinked. "What..? Zombi-"

"GAH!" Everyone yelled again.

Silence. "Uhm...why not?"

Souly grimaced. "Because its ridiculous!"

Wake was silent for awhile before continuing. "The...Ninjas have scouted at least 35,000 of ...them...in what remains of the Fields of Grace. They seem to also be gathering for some form of offensive as well...and they are armed."

Oathkeeper's face dropped. Everyone else stared in disbelief.

"The...creatures are...armed?" Chimera muttered.

Wake nodded. "Yes. They are shielded, mildly, and are carrying what seems to be Ion Rifles, albeit primitive ones."

Twitch raised her eyebrow. "Wait, wait...HOW can a undead lump of flesh possibly operate such a form of technology? Its perposturous!"

Wake became visibly upset. "Do you doubt my Ninjas? They have NEVER lied about any information! I trust their word!"

Oathkeeper rose her hand to silence them. "My friends...THIS is why I bring you all together, here today. You must NOT allow any negative feelings to influence you. We are a group, we are one."

Twitch and Wake nodded in a silent apology.

"Now...apparent these...creatures are controlled. The way they first attacked us, how they knew our systematic weaknesses, how they...how they knew everything about us..." Oathkeeper's face turned dark as she looked at her subjects.

"Are you saying, whoever controls these monsters, was...one of us?" Cyber asked.

Oathkeeper was silent. "Possibly..."

"But..." Pink muttered. "...who? Whom among our group are...not here?"

"Kearu..." Souly said.

Cyber shook his head. "No...I buried him myself, after..." He looked down, not wanting to rememeber the fate of his friend.

"Domo...?" Chimera asked.

Twitch shook her head. "No...can't be her."

"Why not..? She didn't die...but she sure isn't here!" Cyber retorted.

"Listen." Whispered Twitch.

At first, there was silence...then...

"OOOOHHHHH PHEEEEEEEEEENIX! HOW I LOVED YOU SOOOOOO!"

Then silence again. Everyone kind of stared and blinked.

Chimera nodded. "Alright...But that only leaves..."

Pink frowned. "Tristan..."

There was a sharp cold amongst them. The memories of how he led the ferrets against the undead, in the final days of the Kingdom, so that they may escape and live.

"No." Oathkeeper said, deeply stern. "It could never be him. I saw him when he died. He stood against over 50 of them single-handedly to save me and Chimera."

"But he fell over a cliff! He could have survived!" Cyber said.

"And he DID have these...weird powers. Death was something he laughed at." Wake muttered.

"No!" Twitch yelled suddenly. Everyone was suddenly silent, and staring at her. "He...he could never turn his back on the people who gave him home, peace, and friendship. He LOVED this Kingdom! He would never destroy it!"

Suddenly, a Ninja Pandacat came up to the group. His face was obscured my a black mask, and was cloaked in a deep brown, sandish colored cloak. "Madam Wake..." he chirped. "Our intel has returned from the latest scout."

Oathkeeper kneeled to face the Pandacat. "Please, do tell us."

"My Queen...the undead are, indeed, armed and shielded with close-range, and long-ranged weapons. And they are being controlled by a single entity. We saw him standing amongst them, still, and staring at this very mountaintop."

Oathkeeper looked down, biting her lip. It had become worse, much worse. "My dear...what did he look like?"

"Dressed in black, My Queen. From head to toe. And...he wore sunglasses."

The chill amongst them grew much, much deeper.

"No..." Twitch whispered, being brought to her knees.

"What?" Pink said. "It...couldn't be! You said he died, didn't you?"

Oathkeeper rose, her eyes now watery at this revelation. "Gentlemen...ladies...listen to me." She turned and looked to each one of them. "We are...strong. We must REMAIN strong. Judging by this information, it seems...yes...one of our own has become traitorous."

"But it makes no SENSE!" Twitch screamed, rising to her feet. "Why? Why would he? Why would he give up everything he tried so hard to protect? And what of HIS soldiers? The ferrets? Why use freaking dead things to eliminate us, when the ferrets are more capable of doing such a job?"

Oathkeeper walked up to her and held her arms. "I don't know, my friend. I don't know. But I d know..." She released her and again looked at every subject. "...that we face our strongest oppenent yet. And we MUST stay together, if we are to survive. Twitch...are the squirrels prepared?"

Twitch sniffled once, avoiding Oathkeeper's eyes. "Yes..."

Oathkeeper sighed. She felt deep sympathy for these people...to not only be driven from their home, to watch their beautiful Kingdom destroyed...but to know one of their own had done it, had planned it all. And impossible...but horrible truth. "Then all is set. Rest, my friends, my people, my cherished ones. For it is at dawn...that our lives will either continue in victory...or perish in defeat."

Everyone nodded and turned to return to their respective shelters...all except for Twitch. "My Queen...what of Tristan? How are we to defeat him?" Her voice was cracked, almost struggling to remain composed.

Oathkeeper looked into her hazel eyes, and shared her deep sadness. "I do not fully know...he has cheated death many times, and...we must try, my dear. We must. I know how valued of a friend he was, to you and myself, as to everyone else. But...that person is gone. You must try to accept this truth..."

She put her hand on Twitch's shoulder. "Twitch...I know you can be strong." She smiled, that warm, assuring smile only the Cupcake Queen could.

Twitch nodded, a dim, forced smile forming on her own lips. With that, Oathkeeper left her to be. Twitch looked into the sky, the darkness falling over the once-green hills as the sun fell. She sighed deeply, her mind turning and twisting, pondering why, how, could such a...relatively...kind person, suddenly turn like this. Why...Why...

"Twitch-y?" whispered a small voice next to her.

Twitch jumped slightly, but laughed when she saw it was only Pink. "Oh...hi. How are you?"

Pink looked at her friend, then towards the sunset. "I...can't believe that he would do such a thing..."

Twitch sighed softly. "Neither can I...but...I don't know. I just know that...we gotta try. We must try."

Pink looked at her and nodded, then suddenly grabbed her in a hard hug which surprised Twitch. "H-hey...! What's wrong?" she asked.

"I just...want to thank you, for being such a awesome friend...You've always known how to cheer me up, no matter what's happening, and...I've become a better fighter, and person, because of you...and..." Twitch felt her breathing raggedly, and she began to snuffle. Twitch smiled and hugged her closer, staring up into the darkening sky as the sun finally fell behind the crimson hills.


	2. A World Without You

CHAPTER TWO: A World Without You

In the dawn's early light, a breeze fell across the barren wasteland of the once vibrant Cupcake Kingdom. It was within this breeze that the long, black coat that adorned a figure that existed only in shadow swayed. He stood atop what remained of Cupcake Castle, which overlooked the mountain in which the remnants of the Cupcake Kingdom had seeked shelter for the past year, the sudden and violent invasion of the undead scarring their armies to near nothingness, and turning their vast world into ruin. And it was this sheer amount of undead that now grouped itself within the Valley of Dreams, where the Squirrels once lived, amongst a great river and many, many flowering trees and plants, that now were as dead as the creatures themselves. They were stationed, still, waiting. Waiting for the Cupcake Kingdom's final stand against them.

"The report is in." A deep voice echoed from behind the shadowed, trenchcoated figure.

"Speak." The figure said sharply.

"Over 30,000 undead, massively shielded and armed with low-tech ion rifles.*

"What of their leader?"

"He controls them through his...heart, sir."

The world was suddenly silent as the breeze halted. Everything was still. "So..." the man whispered. "He got one after all."

The figure stood still. The sleeves in the coat were cut off, exposing his toned arms. His hands were in his pockets, his legs slightly spread as he looked into the distance. His eyes then focused to the caves. The survivors began to come out, and by the looks of things, began to arm themselves. He saw Souly and Wake, sharing a private moment together; possibly their last. The king and queen giving each other a final hug. Cyber and Pink conversing amongst themselves, Pink apparently having some trouble with her vest. And standing alone, he saw her. Twitch. She was speaking into her headset, possibly relaying orders to what remained of her once massive squirrel army. As his eyes locked onto her, the wind began to pick up once again. The figure's coat flared up behind him dramatically, the dust creating a swirling vortex which soon subsided. As it did, the figure swiftly turned and walked back into the castle.

"They will die." He said, with very little remorse.

"My people, I ask for your attention, one last time..."

Oathkeeper stood on a rocky area which overlooked her loyal subjects - Cyber, Souly, Chimera, Wake, Pink and Twitch.

"This is the moment we trained for. THIS is the moment, my friends, my people, my dearly loved ones, that will will rise victorious, and take back our kingdom!"

Cheers erupted from the group as she stood defiantly, her Cupcake Sword raised high in her hands.

"I know...this isn't much of a motivational speech...but I know in my heart that you each have the courage, the power, to face our enemies and fears head on. I KNOW you do...I believe in you all, my friends. Now...the Great Crusade is upon us. Onward!"

More cheers from the group, whom now began to descend the mountaintop. Souly prepared several Pokeballs in his hands, Pink held her Sword of Karen in her shaking hands, Cyber radioed in commands to his mechs, and Wake and Twitch began issuing orders to their repective armies through their headsets. Oathkeeper and Chimera stayed behind untill they were alone.

"Chimera...I...I am afraid..but I could never let them see the fear in me..." she weeped, grabbing him and holding him close.

"No, my dear...do not fear." He said softly, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. "You are a powerful, great leader. You are now, and always have been, the Cupcake Queen."

Oathkeeper looked up at him, and he reached down and wiped the tears from her soft, dark eyes with his hand, smiling at her the whole time. "Do not fear, my love. For we are all with you."

She grabbed him in a deep, soulful hug. The kind of hug that you always want to last forever. The kind of hug that means the you are safe, sound, and cared for, and always will be. And it was this hug that the rising sun casted its first light on as it climbed the rolling hills of the great Cupcake Kingdom.

Tristan stood behind the massive undead army, watching the survivors of the Cupcake Kingdom sally forward to meet him. He was dressed in complete darkness; suit, pants, shoes...everything. And his sunglasses gleamed in the rising sun. There was no expression on his face; only a pale look of sheer hatred. The creatures whom he commanded swayed and shambled in place, crude armor adorning their dark, bloodstained bodies, with crude weapons in their rotting hands. As the seven survivors of the Cupcake Kingdom came to a halt, just before the undead army, he noticed that, from each side, huge numbers of squirrels and pandacats began to converge. The squirrels were surprisingly unarmed, while the pandacats swung and taunted with various swords and blades. Tristan's pale face finally twisted up into a sickening smile as he waved a gloved hand before him, and the undead began to part like the Red Sea before him, opening a direct, straight line to the seven survivors.

It was a few minutes of sheer silence, aside from the occasional undead moan, before Oathkeeper stepped forward, her eyes still red and watery, but with a stern, almost crushed look upon her face.'

"Why..." she whispered, before it repeated in a echoing yell. "...WHY? Why...did you do this? You were...respected...revered, amongst us. Yes, you were always constantly at odds with some of us, but...Tristan, we cared about you..."

Tristan crossed his arms and stared directly at Oathkeeper. "My Queen...you should have known that I despised you all...constantly begging me to help with this, do something with that...calling upon my ferret army when they needed rest, when they weren't needed at all! And seriously...cupcakes? Who rules by giving cupcakes? You are all fools."

Oathkeeper's eyes suddenly flooded in tears, and she turned into Chimera's arms, buring her face in his chest. It was then that Twitch stepped forward, her purple skirt swaying as she stepped, the light wind blowing her short auburn hair in twists and curls.

"No, YOU are the fool, Tristan! You gave up everything, just for a barren wasteland? And what of these...things? What became of your oh-so-hallowed ferrets?"

"My dear, glorious Twitch," he said, bowing to her. "Long have I missed your humorous sense of sarcasm and hostility! To answer your question, I felt that my ferrets were...unapplicable, in wars of a grand scale. So...I rid myself of them, and cultivated a new, more promising weapon, many of which you see before you."

Twitch lowered her brow and glared at him. Her fists clenched tight, and her face began to swell with red. "So you chose a lesser form of warrior to lead? The ferrets were the most powerful army this kingdom had! Even my squirrels had the hardest of times catching up with them! You...you selfish excuse for a person...a man! You are nothing!"

Tristan simply smiled through her screams. "I will take most pleasure in your death, my dear Twitch. For it will be by my hands, for all your 'friends' to see before their own end."

Twitch snapped, and the Aqua keyblade flashed into her hands as she broke into a snarling, charged run towards him. The others tried to grab her and hold her back, but it was too late; she was already barreling towards him. Suddenly, several zombies (omg teh zed-word!1) jumped her and tackled her to the ground.

Oathkeeper gasped. "Oh my god...Wake, pandacats!"

Wake nodded and motioned to her army of pandacats to attack. Within seconds, over a hundred of them swarmed into the undead army. In a flurry of swordcuts, the ones whom jumped Twitch were struck down, headless.

"Squirrels! Attack!" Twitch shouted, starting to get up, her outfit now blood splattered.

At her command, the roughly two-hundred that remained of the squirrel army hopped, skiddered and overall charged into the foray. Groups of them viciously began to gnaw and claw into the zombies' necks, eventually severing the heads in a fantasict display of teamwork. However...the zombies were not fighting back.

Tristan laughed as he watched his own fighters be cut down easily, without a single reposte. "My dear'friends'...thy end, is now." With that, he snapped his fingers, and at that very instant, the shots began.

Every zombie that held an ion rifle began to fire. The green rounds seared through the air, and visiously cut down everything that it hit. Pandacats and squirrels alike began to drop like flies. However, they quickly caught on, and began a zig-zag pattern, waiting until the last possible moment to move out of the way and strike. The pandacats slashed and hacked furiously, first cutting the legs down before the final decapitation. The squirrels, though, had to attack in a more patient style, given they had no weapons. Instead, two would attack one zombie, each zig-zagging to avoid the ion shots. In between the dodges, a squirrel would jump, and tear a chunk out of the zombie's neck. This pattern would continue until the head fell, and the creature stood no more.

But...they just kept coming. For every ten they killed, another hundred replaced them. Oathkeeper looked onward as she watched the carnage fall before her, and she began to weep in Chimera's arms again.

"Chimera...its...its hopeless...look out there! They're being slaughtered!"

Chimera held her close and kissed the top of her head. "Have faith, my Queen. The battle is not over yet."

At that, a huge squadron of Stealth Bomber-styled mechs flew over head at speeds of nearly 200 miles per hours, and began dropping huge bombs filled with devestating explosive power onto the outskirts of the zombie hoard to avoid hitting the allies, and to reduce the undead numbers. The explosions rocked the ground and hills, cliffs shattering and falling in a tremendous avalance. Fire and smoke plumbed upwards as dirt, rocks, and various zombie parts were strewn into the air. In seconds, the entire outer rim of the battlefield was engulfed in flames.

Tristan stood alone, his back to a deep, cavernous cliff as the flames flew high before him. His pale face reflected the hellish red glow while the battle raged on before him.

Twitch was a sheer demon with the Aqua keyblade. She charged head-long into a group of ion rifled zombies, deflecting every shot with the blade until she used its magic abilities to freeze one zombie's head, jump, kick it off in an icy shatter, land, cut the other two down at the knees, and twirl around to finish with a double decapitation. As her twist came to a halt, she glared through the flames at Tristan, who seemed to be watching her the entire time, the same smirk on his face as before. She huffed and thought about charging through the flames, but instead charged forward again, into the undead hoard, her keyblade swinging furiously.

Oathkeeper watched, high above the battlefield, with a growing smile. Her armies were fighting valiently, and were finally beginning to gain the upper hand. She could see the zombies beginning to fall and diminish. Souly was riding one of Cyber's mechs and dropping explosive Pokeballs across the field, the explosions, while small, caused enough cranial damage to stop the undead. Wake's pandacats were ruthless, dipping and dodging the ion shots and savagely cutting the zombies down. Twitch was a brilliant and impressive fighter, utilizing the magic of her keyblade and its violent power to her advantage. And, of course, her squirrels. They were the most prideful of the group, working as a unit to bring down one, sometimes multiple zombies at once. Oathkeeper was proud, watching her friends fight for what they believed in...for their home...for her. And it wa-...wait...what about Pink?

"Oh my.." she whispered. "Where's...where's Pink?" Oathkeeper looked around frantically. Pink! Where are you?"

It was then that she saw her. Pink was backed into a corner, five zombies advancing on her, unarmed. Her sword was lodged into the shoulder of one of her attackers; obviously she slightly missed.

"Oh my God...I...PINK! HOLD ON!" Oathkeeper yelled.

Running quickly from a rather surprised Chimera, she unseathed her twin katanas and jumped down from the above platform and landed gracefully behind the zombies. She glared at them through her dark eyes, her jet-black hair casting a dark shadow to her face. NO ONE was going to hurt Pink, as long as she lived. She leaped forwards from her crouched stance, and in a swift flurry, all five heads from all five zombies dropped to the dirt at the same time. Pink rushed to Oathkeeper in a hug, trying to hold back the tears of sheer fear - she had never been in battle before.

"Its ok, my dear," Oathkeeper whispered, holding Pink close. "Its alright. You're safe now. Look..." she brought her forward to gaze upon the battlefield, which was still illuminated by the now-dying flames of the bombing run. In some places, there were pandacats and squirrels hanging out together, resting, prodding at the dead zombies...the battle was dying. The Cupcake Kingdom was winning.

"We...we're winning?" Pink asked, a look of hope and faith in her eyes.

"Yes," Oathkeeper nodded, her eyes wet, not with sadness, but with joy. "Yes. We are."

High atop Castle Cupcake, the figure watched the unfolding battle. The light from the flames made the numerous scars across he arms more obvious. A hood adorned his head, so his face was completely shadowed.

"Death matters not to them. Their cause was worthless, yet they still continued to fight."

He had watched Oathkeeper's rescue of Pink, and admired the Queen's fighting prowless...and how weak she was in comparison to the man who lead the undead. His eyes shifted to the man. Tristan. And a scowl grew on his lips, crooking the scar that ran across them.

"You pathetic, miserable excuse for a living entity. You finally get what you've been after all this time, and yet, you still cannot comprehend the...good...that having one can produce." The grimace faded into a smile. "But I know what you're up to. I know EXACTLY why you're still there, smiling. Smiling at her. Watching her, so calmly, so quaintly. The strongest gun is useless without its bullets. I'm sure she'll give you at least a bit of a hard time."

From behind him, he heard the patter of small footsteps.

"Sir," came the deep voice. "All is set."

"Good." The figure replied. "Send our friend up. I must speak with him."

The footsteps faded back into the castle. The figure's eyes never left Twitch, whom he watched closely as she fought, plowing through groups of zombies with a bloodlust that defied her usually calm persona.

"If I recall, woman..." he whispered. "...you still owe me."

"And if I recall myself, YOU owe HER."

The hooded figure turned his head to acknowledge the similarly-hooded man who just appeared behind him.

"I owe her nothing."

The man casually chuckled and walked over to one of the large paintings that hung within the room. Blood was splattered over it, but one could easily still make out the details. It was a portrait of every inhabitant of the Cupcake Kingdom...Oathkeeper, Chimera, Cyber, Kearu, Domo, Pink, Twitch, Wake, Souly...and Tristan. He extended a black gloved hand to caress the painting, admiring its craftmanship...and its signifigance.

"Is it truely that hard to remember? Considering all you do is stare at her..."

The figure swung to face the man, his coat swinging and his scarred arm stretched into a point. "That pathetic excuse for a man took everything from me. My pride, my heart, my power...my memories. I am nothing, do you understand?"

The man gazed back at the figure with green eyes. "Then why do you do this?"

The figure dropped his arm. He was sillhouetted against the dying flames behind him, and his posture resembled that of a great, strong warrior. Perhaps...even a terrifying demon. "Revenge."

The man turned and gazed up at the portrait. He saw Twitch playfully ruffling Tristan's hair, while Pink glomped him, nearly knocking him off-balance. Tristan's sunglasses were almost falling off, yet, a smile adorned his face. The man looked at this with sheer confusion, yet with a grim sense of understanding.

"Are you sure?"

The figure huffed and turned to face the battlefield once again. "When he was taken from you, you seeked the same thing I do, did you not?"

The man pulled out a worn, slightly dirty black-and-white checkered wristband and looked at it in rememberance. "At first...but then I realized that revenge was not the best course..."

"Yes, but you were like me, as I am now. A Nobody. Hell, just frackin' call me 'Mr. Namine', cause I have no damn Heartless wandering around...thankfully."

The man laughed, surprised by the figure's sudden burst of comedy. "I though you said you were incapable of feeling, that you were nothing?"

The figure stared out over the battlefield. The flames were reaching ground level, and the zombies were dwindling fast. Perhaps 100 or less remained. His shadowed eyes kept close watch to Tristan and Twitch, watching their every move carefully. It was then, at that moment, the the fires blocking Tristan and the battlefield completely died, and an open path was made. Twitch, after disposing of three zombies in one swing, saw this opening. And she stood still, staring at him.

"I will always be nothing." The figure said flatly as he turned swiftly, walking up to the man. "The fire is dead, and he will not hesistate, I assure you. Her anger will get her killed. Make sure this doesn't happen."

As the figure walked towards the castle elevator, the man watched him curiously. For a Nobody, he exhibited extraordinary emotions, like...like his heart was trying to rebuild itself, and in the process, is beginning to recall the feelings he used to have. "For your sake?"

The figure walked into the elevator and turned. "For all of us."

With that, the door shut, and the man was alone. He again looked up at the portrait, and noticed all the smiling faces that adorned it. His look was strong as he gazed out towards the battlefield. As he gazed outward, he began to recall the words of an anthem to a group of warriors...an anthem long since forgotten, in the times of the undead.

"'Ripped open they died, and with their final breath, they hailed, the King'..."


	3. The Other Promise

CHAPTER THREE: The Other Promise

The elevator plowed through hundreds of miles of rock at breakneck speeds. However, to the hooded figure with the sleeveless trenchcoat, everything seemed to slow down to a snail's pace. His hands were in his pockets, and his head dipped, staring at the floor.

"No...not for me, or for any of us." he whispered.

He removed one hand from his coat, and a golden chain dangled from his closed fist. He raised his head slighty to gaze at his hand. The dim outline of a goatee was visible through the shadow of his hood. He opened his hand...and his shoulders sank as his eyes saw what he held.

It was a squirrel. A golden, shining squirrel, that was holding a crystal acorn in its hands. It was glowing, radiant, like it was kept in prestine shape for all these years. He held it gently within his palm, and rubbed it softly with his fingers.

It was then that the elevator stopped. The second it did, his fist closed around the pendant. Tightly.

"For you."

The doors opened, and a squeaky, mousy voice yelled, "Attention!"

The entire place was silent. The figure lowered his hand, the chain still hanging from it. He lifted his head, and from underneath the hood, and within the dark shadow that hid his face, there as a small glint of green of where his eyes should be. A glint of hope - a glint of tears.

Twitch glared forward with a passion and hatred that defied her sweet, calm posture. Tristan glared back, and smiled at her the whole time.

"You are nothing!" She shouted at him. "Look around you! Your army is vanquished! You...you pathetic fool. You could never take us...The Kingdom is ours again!"

Tristan tsk'ed. "Your overconfidence is killing you, my sweet. I doubt your claims are justified."

Twitch scoffed. "EXCUSE me? Look around you! Your army is NOTHING! You are wasted!"

Tristan smiled. "I'm afraid not, dear. You still have me."

Twitch lost it at "dear". She charged forward at breakneck speed, her keyblade raised high. Tristan simply smiled the whole time as she closed the distance within seconds. As she swung down, he caught the keyblade bewteen his hands pushed forward, the force of which threw Twitch hard backwards, her body crashing into the dirt. Twitch immediately stood and ran back at him, screaming her lungs out as she fired shot after shot of magic energy from the blade. Tristan seemed to phase in and out of existance as each shot moved right through him, almost as if he wasn't even there.

"You fool!" Tristan yelled, his voice almost otherworldly as he dodged every one of Twitch's shots. "Have you forgotten my power?"

In an instant, Tristan was inches in front of TWitch's face. He grabbed her by her shirt and lifted her bodily. She swung with her keyblade, but he grabbed it, and tore it from her hand and threw it behind him. As she tried to summon it again, he grabbed her hand and began to squeeze. It was then that TWitch began to feel a draining...like, her very essense, her very soul, began to be drained from her. She struggled, hard, but his grip was stronger, and the drain was getting worse. Her body began to fail her, and soon her motions began to slow to a stop.

"Let go of her you BITCH!"

Twin blades extended from Tristan's stomach, and a sharp kick to the back of the head soon followed, which brought him to his hands and knees as TWitch dropped from his grasp and thudded to the ground. Chimera ran to Twitch and grabbed her and pulled her aside as Tristan slowly began to rise. The twin blades were forcefully ripped from his body, and, as he turned, his eyes soon met them as they were pointed right at him, the sharp, digging, soulful eyes of the Cupcake Queen staring at him from down the blade.

"Stand down, Tristan. Your game is over." She said sternly. Her body was tense, unmoving, prepares to strike for a kill in a flash.

Tristan smiled. "My Queen...my beautiful, lovely Queen...what an honor it is to see you here. Oh, and in full fighting form, too. I remember the day you bought that dress...held a special day of revelry for it! My, it was a good day."

"Silence." Her voice was cold and deadly. Even Chimera was taken aback by her change of attitude. If Death was a woman...

"...or?" Tristan quirped.

"Death." With that, the Queen lunged forward, one katana thrusting, the other cutting down. Either one hit, or both - one way or another, you were going to die. However...there was nothing there. Only air existed where Tristan once stood. Oathkeeper's eyes widened as she not only didn't hit anything, but she was completely offguard.

"Yours will be pleasant." Tristan said nonchalantly as he was now directly behind her. He placed his palm mere inches from her back, and in a flash, she was blown forwards with tremendous force. The katanas were flung violently from her hands, and her body was slammed into the ground and dragged, leaving a small indent in the ground as she skidded. Her body came to a stop, and the dust quickly settled. He body was still, her eyes open and wide in fear.

Chimera stared in shock, Twitch still lying, fazed, on his lap. His eyes stared deep into Oathkeeper's own. "Oath...Oathkeeeper..?" His voice whispered in a crack. His eyes soon shifted, slowly, to Tristan, whom himself turned and gazed at Chimera through darkened sunglasses. The red tint of his irises shined deep into Chimera's soul as a smile formed on his wicked, pale face.

"OATHKEEPER!" Chimera yelled, rising quickly, completely forgetting about Twitch who laziliy flopped on the ground, her stability still trying to regain itself.

In a flash of fire, the nearly six foot long Masamune blade formed in Chimera's hands as he rushed forward, sheer anger, revenge and hatred possessing him. His pale eyes squinted in fury as he brought the blade up for a single, killing strike upon Tristan's body. Tristan didn't even blink as the blade came down in a frightening crash on his arm, which was still outstretched from the apparently fatal blow to Oathkeeper...and upon impact, the blade shattered. The huge, magnificent sword exploded into hundreds of thousands of crystallized pieces.

Chimera's face turned from pure fury to unheardof fear and shock as he dropped the hilt, all that remained of the once-mighty blade. In seconds, Tristan outstretched his arm, grabbed him by the face, turned towards the remains of Castle Cupcake, and lifted him up towards where the lookout from the throne room once was. Chimera struggled and fought back with all he could muster, but Tristan's grip was getting tighter the more he struggled, and soon his screams echoed from the caverns and walls.

"My dear King..." Tristan muttered with a sick joy. "...Long have you not sat upon your throne. Here, allow me to help."

Tristan smiled sadistically as the forceful energy that finalized Oathkeeper began to charge in his arm. He was going to blow Chimera into the castle, eliminating not only him, but the castle itself - the last remaining symbol of hope.

In a mere millisecond before the energy discharge, Tristan was blown forward by a huge, blue ball of lightning. Chimera dropped like a rock and quickly crawled his way to Oathkeeper's side as Tristan barely caught himself with one arm. He glanced behind him, a look of sheer hatred upon his face. Standing behind him, Aqua Keyblade in hand and pointing dead at him, was Twitch, barely standing, but a look of sheer determination on her face. He rose slowly, his body smoldering from the electric attack, but he was otherwise unfazed.

"Hmm...perhaps I'll have to do this now, rather than later." Tristan proclaimed, his eyes never leaving Twitch.

He slowly began to raise his hand. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening, until a blood-curdling shriek from Wake broke the silence. Everyone turned to see a group of zombles, cut down and in peices...slowly began to reform. Each peice that was cut from the body - arm, leg, head, everything - began to form a new body. And they rose, and rose quickly. In a matter of a few minutes, what was once an original number of roughly 30,000 zombies, now reached into the hundreds of thousands.

"Oh my...Tristan! Stop this!" Twitch yelled, watching the reborn undead army begin to rise, the numbers quadrupled. "What do you expect to gain from this?"

Tristan lowered his arm, and smiled. "Allow me to show you."

He rushed forward and grabbed her throat, and immediately she felt the draining of her energy again, but this time it was harder, stronger, and her keyblade dropped in seconds. As Tristan began to drain her, the zombies once again began to attack. Sounds of screaming, yelling, cries of horror and sudden death filled the air as the squirrels and pandacats once again began to fight. But there were too many of them this time. The dodge and attack plans of before now failed, as the squirrels and pandacats were shot down long before they could even make the first cut. Souly, using on of Cyber's flying machines, flew over the battlefield and tossed Pokeballs in a carpetbombing-style run. The zombies were incinerated instantly, yet, the loss of a few mattered not, as a thousand took their place.

Pink had seemingly had a change of courage. She looked like a cross between Oathkeeper and Twitch in her fighting, leaping and coming down hard on the skulls of various undead with her Sword of Karen. She had developed the style of holding the sword in a reverse style, the blade pointing behind her rather than forward. With this style, she was a spinning demon, her twists and turns looking more like a dance than a calculated style of undead elimination.

Chimera had managed to carry Oathkeeper's seemingly lifeless body to the shelter of the rocks above the battlefield and avoid the undead. He tried everything to awaken her...and yet, she ceased to move. No heartbeat, no breath, nothing. In a shower of tears, Chimera grabbed her lifeless body and held her close to him, tightly, lovingly. To him, his world had ended, for the Cupcake Queen was no more. The Cupcake Kindgom...was dead.

"I love you..." He whispered, caressing her cold cheek with his fingers.

Tristan smiled as Twitch dropped to her knees, her body totally void of control. She grunted, trying desperately to find the energy to rise, but instead she just began to fail more.

"Now, my dear...give to me that which will grant me the power to finish this world, and to bring hellish fire and destruction to all others..."

He placed his hand on her chest, and a small hole began to form between them. The hole grew wider, and wider, until it stopped...and a small, pink blob formed within it.

Her heart.

Tristan began to withdraw his hand, and her heart began to follow. Twitch's body shuddered and she gasped as her own heart was being pulled from her body. In seconds, her body collapsed, the hole closed, and her heart set firmly within Tristan's palm. She looked up at him through blurred eyes, and she used what little energy she had left to reach up in a futile attempt to regain her heart. Her arms fell limp quickly, and all movement from her ceased, save for very short, ragged breathing.

"Yes...yes..." Tristan whispered, caressing her heart. "The strongest warrior of the dead Cupcake Kingdom...your power, is now mi-"

A pillar of flame erupted violently underneath Tristan, sending him flying backwards with a yell, Twitch's heart flying into the air. Tristan crashed to the dirt, his body smoldering, his face slightly burned. He turned in rage and saw a figure dressed in all black, a hood covering its face, kneeling besides Twitch, returning her heart into her body. She gasped and sputtered in pain as the heart was reinserted into her, and she breathed heavily, life once again filling her.

"No..." Tristan muttered, his eyes now glowing the deepest of red, the blackness of his sunglasses doing nothing to dim them. "NO! I WILL KILL YOU!"

Tristan rose and charged forward towards the black-cloaked figure. However, the figure rose, and twin red and white chakrams were summoned into his hands, a ring of fire surrounding them. Tristan came to an immediate halt.

Twitch, still weak, looked up at this person with wide eyes. "A...Ax..Axel..?"

The figure's shoulders slumped. "Aw man...I guess the jig is up, huh?"

The figure reared its head back, and allowed the hood to drop behind him. Long, spiky red hair flowed from his head, while deep, sensuous green eyes shone forth as a kind, yet long missed smile formed on his face as he looked at Twitch.

"Hey, sweetheart." Axel said, winking at her.

Twitch's eyes began to overflow with tears. It was Axel...it WAS Axel! He...was this really him? Was he really here? Was he...really still alive? She tried to force herself up to touch him, to feel him, to make sure she wasn't dreaming, but her body was still too weak. She barely managed to clear her eyes of tears and smile back at him.

"Enough." Tristan said, his stance firm. "Your appearence is surprising, I will admit, but you took from me my only shot at gaining the power of the strongest of warriors in this...pathetic land."

Axel smiled at him and twirled his chakrams. "You ARE a silly one, aren't you? My my...just how I remembered."

Tristan lowered his brow and fumed. "You insolent insect! Your death will be my greatest pleasure! Fall to me you foo-"

"By the Gods, look!" Admist the screams and cries of the undead battle, Pink had climbed to one of the cliffs above the battle. It was there that she pointed, wide-eyed, towards the ruined Castle Cupcake.

Chimera, his hope in living nearly lost as he cradled the body of Oathkeeper, looked upwards, his face covered in trails of tears. He was emotionless. Wake, stabbing a zombie through the skull with one of her sais, glanced upwards, and her mouth went agap. Cyber, radioing in for another bombing run, stopped and glanced upwards. The radio dropped from his hands with a loud clatter. Souly looked up, completely out of breath and his Pokeball supply exhausted. He sharply inhaled at what he saw. Twitch looked upwards, and while her vision was still burry, it soon focused itself for that distance. She suddenly felt an odd sense of...familiarity. Tristan slowly turned, and glared upwards with a demonic sense of hatred.

High atop Castle Cupcake, at its absolute highest point, stood a single figure. A man. His bare arms were crossed, and a long, sleeveless trenchcoat fluttered in the wind behind him. He wore a white shirt underneath, with black, almost leather pants and black boots. There was a shining gold squirrel pendant hanging from his neck, a crystal acorn in its paws. A hood adorned his face.

Tristan turned back towards Axel, who was still smiling at him. "Who is this clown? Another of your Nobody friends?"

Axel laughed. "You...you could say that, yeah. He has a name, but he would like you to call him something special."

Tristan gritted his teeth, not wanting to play these foolish, childish games any longer. "And what, praytell, would that be?"

Axel simply smiled and blinked. "Death."

A cold shudder ran down Tristan's spine. He quickly turned and glared at the hooded figure. "Show yourself to me! Show yourself, you insolent fool!"

The figure watched Tristan for a few minutes, his arms still crossed. He glanced at Twitch, then Axel...and noticed everyone else staring at him. The time was now. Death had come to collect. With one hand, he reached up, and pulled the hood back.

"Oh my God..." Pink whispered.

"It...it can't be..." Wake sank in shock.

"Is...is it really...?" Souly muttered.

"Whoa..." Cyber blinked in surprise.

"...our salvation..." Chimera whispered through his tears.

Tristan raised his hand, and the zombies ceased their attack. They simply stood there, done, disabled, still. Not a moan, not a move.

Twitch pushed herself up through tremendous pain, her mouth agap and her eyes wide. "No...it's...impossible..."

The figure's shoulder-length deep brown hair flailed in the wind. His cat-like eyes shone a dark green, glaring forward with a burning, internal hatred, the kind that has stewed, developed and grown over many, many years. The servants of the Cupcake Kingdom stared upwards at this man in total shock, possibly horror. The world had gone silent, as silent as the morning before this battle, as silent as the end of life itself.

Twitch got to her feet, and slowly stumbled forward, but Axel held her back. "It...it can't possibly be..."

The figure slowly raised his hand, and pointed towards the Cherry Lemon Hills, the once glorious range of hills that were covered in multicolored flowers.

Everyone turned to follow his point, and further gasps of shock echoed from the Cupcake servants.

Standing amongst these barren, desecrated hills, were hundreds of thousands...of ferrets. Ferrets, all armed to the teeth with rocket launchers, handheld miniguns, pulse rifles...any form of weapon you can imagine. And they were armored, nearly from head to paw with shining plates of sophisticated armor. And each and every one of them were poised in attack formation, waiting for the command to rush forward, and begin the attack.

Tristan stepped forward, removing his sunglasses, his cat-like red eyes glaring up at this figure. "So...you live. You actually lived...Ferret King."

Twitch stumbled to her knees. "F-Ferret...King...? Axel...? What's going on?"

Axel could only sigh.

The figure lowered his arm, and stared manevolently down at Tristan. "You stole everything from me. My likeness, my life, my heart, my memories...my name. And you didn't stop there. You destroyed my home, and destroyed the lives of my friends. Heartless, you are pathetic."

Tristan's eyes widened. "Heartless...? Ahh! I understand it now! You are...what's left! The empty shell! You are the Nobody of the 'late' Tristan, the Ferret King! My my, what will happen next?"

Twitch gasped. Tristan...a Heartless? And a Nobody...? How? Why? It...it made no sense!

The figure, the Nobody of Tristan, the Ferret King, never even blinked as he raised his hand once more. "Your death."

With a snap of his fingers, the massive army of ferrets sallied forth, bullets, rockets, every form or artillery possible tearing into the zombies army. Dozens dropped in seconds from the massive volley of fire. The ground rumbled as hundreds of thousands of ferrets rolled across the tarnished hills towards the battleground, and as Tristan the Heartless stared forward in disbelief, the nearly identical Nobody leapt from the Castle and landed, crouched, next to Twitch and Axel. Axel smiled as Twitch gazed at him, a mix of confusion, amazement, and happiness overwhelming her. Tristan rose, his figure a symbol of power as the ferrets reached the battlefield itself, and a fury of gunfire and explosions erupting all around them.

"Upon these very grounds, I made an oath to the King and Queen, to serve, protect, and maintain peace within this Kingdom." As the Nobody stood, his green eyes shone in a determined brilliance. "I have a friend, Heartless, whom I promised to always watch over, and keep safe in the times of danger..."

Twitch saw the squirrel pendant, and her heart sank. She dimly remembered it, but she gave that to him, after they called a truce in the squirrel-ferret wars. They both made a promise to watch over each other, and keep each other safe from danger. Her eyes began to water again as the memories began to flood back.

Tristan watched his Nobody with an emotionless gaze as a dim light began to shine from the Nobody's right hand. He raised his arm as the light grew brighter, but then turned into swirls of dark energy.

"...and you will find me dead, to the point of no resurrection, to the point of no recognition, before you will EVER lay your hands on her heart again."

In a snap, the dark energy took shape in the Nobody's hand. There was a sudden feeling of sheer dread and ominous fear as the Oblivion Keyblade now resided in his grasp. The keychain dangled from the blade, which caught Tristan's eye.

"I see...a keychain...I would never have guessed that you, Nobody, would actually have a heart." With that, Tristan summoned ANOTHER Oblivion Keyblade in his hand, which also had a keychain.

The Nobody squinted and glared. How could the Heartless have a keychain? He had no heart...HE had what remained of the original heart. How could the Heartless have a-...wait. The Nobody turned and looked up onto the mountain, and saw Chimera, still cradling the body of Oathkeeper. Slowly he turned back to his Heartless, and his grip on the hilt of the blade tightened.

"So...you tore the heart from Oathkeeper in the very instant she died, and took it as your own."

Tristan reached out and opened his palm, and a pink, sprinkle-topped cupcake appeared in his hand. "My powers are twinfold, dear 'brother'. The darkness that once resided in your own heart...and the destructive powers of the Queen herself!"

With that, Tristan shot the cupcake forward, a pulse of psychic energy guiding towards his Nobody's face. However, the Nobody quickly raised his own hand, and began to force the cupcake back. To those who watched, it was a sight to be seen, as the cupcake wobbled in the air, suspended by nothing, occasionally pushing back, then forward, then back again. Twitch and Axel could feel the energy coming from both of them, rising, climbing. Tristan grunted in frustration as he pushed harder, while the Nobody was expressionless, his breathing calm and collected.

Suddenly, the Nobody pulled his hand forward, and sucked the cupcake from Tristan's grasp and into his own. He absorbed the cupcake into himself, and in a split second, charged his Heartless. Tristan was taken aback, but nonetheless not caught offguard. He, too, charged forward, both of the Oblivion keyblades raised for a slashing strike. The dust grew as they both charged at each other, and finally, their blades met with a shattering clang, sparks of energy shooting from the contact point. In lightning-fast twists and turns, the two engaged each other, every second a ear-shattering clang of keyblades ringing from the near-blur of the fight. Tristan was able to get behind his Nobody, however, and grab him and drag him to the dirt. The Nobody kicked upwards, driving his boot into Tristan's head, which in turn brough him down. He jumped onto his Heartless and began to pummel him with his fists, but was quickly met with a psywave which blew him backward several feet, him landing with a thud. Tristan rose and jumped, pointing the keyblade downwards in a final stab, but the Nobody caught the stab between the prongs of his keyblade, and shoved the blade upwards and reposted with a psywave of his own, which threw Tristan backwards into a flip, to which he landed gracefully and stared down his Nobody.

"S-so...you still have fight in you..." Tristan huffed, his red eyes glaring forward.

"Enough of a fight to bring you to death..." The Nobody also huffed, rising to his feet, his green eyes matching his Heartless' stare.

Tristan had had enough. This party had gone on long enough. With a flick of his hand, he called all the zombies to attention, and ordered them to all attack the Nobody. They rushed him with blinding speed, flesh-ripping teeth and fingers approaching fast. As the Nobody was distracted, Tristan used his supernatural speed to slam his keyblade into Axel's back from behind, knocking him to the ground in a heap, and grabbed Twitch and swung her still mostly-limp body over his shoulder.

"T-TWITCH!" The Nobody yelled, watching the zombies rush ever closer. Suddenly, in seconds, he was overcome by the undead. He had no chance, nay, no room, to even counterattack. He was swallowed in a sea of hundred of thousands of undead.

"Goodbye, 'brother'. Shame you won't be able to keep that promise." Tristan smiled. He raised his hand to snap his fingers, to vanish to a world, or universe, that no one knew of, and thus, no one could stop him.


	4. The Heart Of The World

CHAPTER FOUR: The Heart of the World

A long broadsword was driven deep through his torso, bursting through the other side in a spray of blood. Tristan stumbled forward, and Twitch fell from his arms and fell into another's...Pink's.

"T-Twitchy! Are you...are you ok?" Pink muttered frantically, hoping what she did will stall, or even stop, the tyrannical Heartless.

Twitch, awake but still rather dilerious, sat up and smiled at her. "Yes, Pink...I'm fi-PINK!"

Pink and snatched in a flash from Twitch's side, and was now held several feet above the ground, by the throat, by Tristan the Heartless. His deep red eyes glared into her own, deep, hard, piercing her very soul as he reached behind him, and snapped her sword in half while it remained in his body. He threw the hilted portion aside, while the front half simply slided out from him and clanged as it hit the ground, his wound completely healed. Pink struggled and cried as Tristan's grip tightened around her throat.

"You...worthless spat...the tears your dear friend 'Twitchy' will shed upon seeing your neck snap will fill me with such pleasure."

Twitch watched in horror as Pink began to gasp for breath, the tears literally being squeezed from her eyes. She tried to move, but her body was still too weak to stand. She tried to summon her keyblade, but it failed to respond. Twitch was helpless.

Suddenly, from the army of zombies, an unearthly sound erupted from its epicenter. In a violent, terrible shockwave of mental energy, the zombies, each and every one of them, were torn to shreds. Limbs, skulls, torsos, everything, blown to unidentifiable pieces. Nothing remained of the undead army. At the center of the wave, was the Nobody, his arms outstretched, fists clenched, and his eyes fluctuating between green...and red.

"Let...let her go..." The Nobody said between clenched teeth. Dust swirled from his feet as he never released his pose.

Tristan looked behind him, and looked at his Nobody, expressionless. He squeezed just a bit harder, and with a cry, a small snap was heard.

"I SAID LET HER GO!" The Nobody yelled with unadulterated fury as he charged, his image a sheer blur, and slammed his elbow into Tristan's face. Tristan was blown violenting into one of the overlooking mountain. The rocks began to fall in a terrifying avalance, which nearly buried Tristan's now battered, bloodied body.

"You...you fool..." He muttered, blood running from his mouth. "Your fate...is inevitable...as is your failure..."

The Nobody, his eyes now completely red, raised his hand and swung it downwards, and the entire facing side of the mountain collapsed down, down onto Tristan's battered form. His scream echoed loud over the crashing, thunderous display of violence that the rocks instilled upon him, entombing his body in thousands of tons of earth.

The dust cloud was tremendous, and washed over the battlefield. However, in seconds, it cleared, the Nobody waving his hand in a slow circle, manipulating the wind to blow the dust away. From there, it was silent. Dead silence. The Nobody's breathing was heavy, but soon calmed, his shining red eyes slowly turning back to green. He turned his head from the piled of rocks that entombed the body of his Heartless, and looked down at Pink, whom continued to cry, yet...she wasn't moving.

Twitch crawled over to her, and put her ear to Pink's mouth, as her words were barely audiable.

"Oh my God...Pink...she's...she's paralyzed."

Souly, Wake, and Cyber began to move from their protected spots and gather around. They, as well as the few that remained of the ferrets, pandacats and squirrels, gazed at the trenchcoated figure, but also, the crying, whispering body of Pink, her eyes frantic in fear.

The Nobody stepped over to Twitch and Pink, and stared down them. His eyes showed no care whatsoever. No care, remorse, or concern. Yet...he kneeled beside her, and placed his hand on her forehead.

"Tr...Tristan...?" Twitch muttered, her hazel eyes staring at the Nobody.

"Silence." He snapped. "That name is dead. My name...is Talos."

Twitch looked at him in confusion. That wasn't the typical Nobody name...then again, neither was Namine...

Talos closed his eyes and seemed to focus his energy though his hand, and into Pink. The world seemed to stop, and it ceased for an endless time. The winds slowly picked up, then dropped. Dust flew about, then settled. It was an infinite sense of pause. Talos then retracted his hand, and stood.

"Get up." He said, his voice dark.

Pink blinked, her eyes stinging from the tears...and began to move her fingers. Then her arms. Everyone gasped and whispered amongst themselves as Pink slowly began to sit up. She was wobbly for a minute, but she was soon able to stand just fine on her own, as if nothing happened.

Pink turned to Talos, and, with a new flood of tears, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around him in the tightest hug she's ever given. "Th-thank you...thank you..." she whispered, the largest smile on her face.

Talos stood there, arms outstretched, not caring to hug her back. However, her hug began to reawaken a few memories that were left unlocked within him. The glomps, the surprise hugs, the few things that he was thanked for. It was like...everything was starting to come back, slowly, but it was. As he looked down at Pink, and the smile she had on her face, he slowly began to lower his hands, and carefully, gently, put them around her. It wasn't much, but he began to return her hug, and everyone, Twitch especially, gasped at this sight. In all her time knowing him...he had never hugged anyone.

Axel slowly began to get up, holding his back rather tightly. "Ouch...what the heck hit m-...oh, is this a tender moment?"

Talos smirked at Axel's always-present sense of humor. He rubbed Pink's head softly as the hug broke, and looked at the faces of everyone. And he knew exactly what was on their mind. Why was there a Heartless and Nobody of him, how did it happen, why did he stay hidden for so many years...so many questions, and answers that he could not give. Not now, at least.

"T-Tristan...?" A rather quiet voice uttered from behind him. The group gasped and went to their knees...all except for Talos, who turned in a tinge of rage, his finger pointing threateningly. "NEVER address me as th-..." Talos stopped quickly, and his hand dropped quickly. His face dropped at the sight.

Chimera was carrying the body of Oathkeeper in his arms, his pale eyes shining with tears, red rivers imprinted on her face. "Please...p-please help her..."

He lowered her body to the ground at Talos' feet. He looked into her wide, fear-shocked eyes, her mouth still open from the moment the pain hit her, in a silent, endless scream.

"Chimera..." Talos said, looking at him with the slimmist sense of sympathy. "...I cannot work miracles. To bring someone from death is not one of my abilities."

"B-but...Pink..."

"Pink was alive, Chimera. My healing is limited to those who live, not those whom death has already claimed."

Chimera fell to his knees. "Please! Please, you must try! She's...she's my everything...my heart, my soul, my very essence...please..." Talos watched as Chimera caressed Oathkeeper's cold face, down to her hand. He took her hand softly in his, and brought it to his lips, and kissed it softly.

"I love you...I swear that I love you..." Chimera whispered, his body now shaking as he began to loose hope that he would never see his beloved again.

Talos kneeled by her body, biting his lip. He, too, caressed her cheek, before looking up at Chimera. His green eyes were lowered, not in anger, but in determination. Chimera opened his eyes and looked at him, a slight tinge of fear entering him as he looked into Talos's dark, heartless eyes. He also saw something that no one else did - Talos was caressing the squirrel pendant he had around his neck. Chimera looked at this, and into Talos' eyes.

"Chimera..." Talos whispered, to the level where only Chimera could hear him. "Love is the strongest power in the world. You...all of you...may hold me in such high, powerful regard, but in reality, compared to the power of love, I am nothing." Talos leaned in closer, the pendant now gripped tightly in his fist. "Chimera...do you truely love her, as much as you say you do?"

Chimera swallowed hard, his body slowly recovering from the emotional shock. "Y-yes...I love her. God, I love her...more than anything in the world, I swear to you."

"Don't swear to me." Talos retorted. "Swear to her."

Chimera looked down at her, into her dark eyes, and places his hand on her chest. "I love you, Oathkeeper...You were...you were always the one who made me feel happy, special, loved, cared for. You...you always had that kind, cheerful smile that...that just made me fall in love with you every time you did it..."

Talos watched as Chimera lowered his head, unable to say anymore. He put his hand close to his chest, so no one else could see. and in his palm the cupcake he absorbed from Tristan earlier formed. Soon the cupcake's form began to shed, and a pink heart began to take its place.

Fool, Talos thought to himself. The power to steal hearts lies within both of us. Under the guise of a simple cupcake, I tore her heart from you and you never even knew.

Talos, in a swift motion, pushed his hand down onto Chimera's as it still layed upon Oathkeeper's chest. The heart passed through Chimera's hand, and was returned to Oathkeeper's soul. At that very instant, her body rose with a deep gasp as life washed into her body. She sank back down, her chest heaving as she gasped for the sweet air that her body had lacked for all this time.

Chimera looked at him in sheer shock, but then down at Oathkeeper. Talos releashed his grip on Chimera's hand and watched, his other hand still caressing the squirrel pendant. Chimera caressed Oathkeeper's cheek, looking down into her now life-filled eyes. He picked her up slowly and cradled her in his arms, the river of tears returning to his face, but this time with a smile to join them. Chimera smiled, large, glorious, true.

"Thank you...from the bottom my heart, thank you..." Chimera managed to mutter in his new state of emotion.

Talos only looked back at him with the same cold, dark gaze he had been as he stood. "Get her to your shelter. She will need more rest than Twitch will. Death is...something that isn't easy to recover from."

Chimera nodded and lifted Oathkeeper up, her voice shot, so all she could do was cough and breath heavily. As they left, the others, Souly, Wake, Cyber, and Pink, who hugged Talos one more time, followed them. Even the rpandacats, squirrels and ferrets left to join the King and Queen. Talos watched, pondering how many "thank you"s he was going to get this time. He looked down, his hand still caressing the squirrel pendant, and slowly brought his hand away from it as he turned. Only Twitch and Axel remained, both of whom were watching him intently, Twitch now standing on her own.

Axel blinked, looking at both of them as they stared at each other. "Whelp, I best be heading back to the castle. I left..uhm...cookies baking. Take care!" In a plume of flames, he was gone, leaving Twitch and Talos alone.

The wind picked up once more, Talos' trenchcoat fluttering wildly and Twitch's purple skirt waving elegantly. It was sheer silence as they both stared at each other, five years having passed since they last saw one another.

"So...I'm sure you have questions." Talos was the first to speak. He broke the stare by fully turning towards Twitch and turning his gaze to the ground, walking around the battlefield, which was littered with various weapons...and bodies.

"I do..." Twitch said rather quietly. "Why have you been away so long..? We needed you more than ever these past few years, and if you were around..."

"I was dead, Twitch." Talos responded nonchalantly.

"Pheh! You were not dead! You? Die? Never."

Talos stopped and gazed into her soft, hazel eyes. "The Realm of Darkness can very easily be considered as death, Twitch. And when you've spent what seems like an eternity there, that's what you come to call it."

Twitch was taken aback...she had no idea that he was lost within that Realm, as Sora and Riku once were. "I...I'm sorry..."

Talos huffed. "Your trademark saying...its nothing. What matters now is that I'm out of it."

Twitch nodded. Inside, she was rather...happy...to see him again. Moreorless because he...remembered the promise. "I...see you still have that necklace I gave you..."

Talos kept surveying the area, his hands in his pockets. "You know those stories on how people get shot, but the bullet hit something that they had in their pocket or something, thus keeping them from death?" Talos looked up at her, the wind fluttering his long hair about. "You could say your gift served the same purpose."

Twitch looked down and blushed. "Uhm...uh...t-thank you, for what you did, by the way, for Pink and the Queen..."

Talos walked past Twitch and looked up at the castle. "I need to leave."

Twitch stepped towards him. "W-what? Why? You just...came back to us, and now you need to leave?"

"I'm bloody tired, woman, can't a guy get some sleep?" Talos glared at her.

Twitch blinked, but then started to snicker. For a Nobody who apparently didn't have a heart...he sure exhibited the kind of humor he used to when he was whole.

"You need rest as well. I suggest spending a good, long while asleep." Talos said.

"I will...uhm...will...will we ever see you again?" Twitch bit her lip.

Talos looked up towards the castle. "An angel comes when he's needed. Keep that in mind." With that, he began to walk forward, a Dark Portal opening before him.

"Tri-...erm, Talos...?" Twitch stepped forward. Talos halted. "I...we...missed you."

Talos stood there for a second before walking through the portal, which immediately closed. He was holding the squirrel pendant the entire time.

With that, Twitch was alone. The wind began to pick up harder, the sun beginning to set. She turned to rejoin her group, and to take a well needed rest.

As she did, however, the pile of rubble and rocks that entombed Tristan the Heartless began to shiver, and a small, dim red glow came from within.


End file.
